SkyClan's Destiny/Chapter 25
Chapter description :Leafstar dozes in her den until sunhigh, and by now, the rain has stopped. In the gorge, most of the cats have returned from patrol. Sharpclaw, Egg, Stick, and Cora sit close together, talking as they eat, and Leafstar notes that Egg seems to be settling in well. She runs into the gorge and jumps onto the Rockpile, calling a Clan meeting. The Clan members not already there gather around. Leafstar announces that Egg will be an apprentice, and she beckons Egg forward to the foot of the Rockpile. She renames him as Eggpaw, and assigns Sharpclaw as his mentor. The deputy seems unsurprised at being Egg’s mentor and dips his head to Leafstar, before touching noses with the young tom. The Clan starts congratulating Egg, but Billystorm is at the edge of the crowd, and looks slightly doubtful as he calls out Eggpaw's name, and Leafstar tells herself that she would ask what is worrying him later. :As the yowls of welcome die down, Egg looks up at Leafstar and stammers that he wants to stay as Egg, since Stick said he and his friends had done that. Leafstar doesn’t like how Stick and the other newcomers didn’t think that warrior names were important, and is even more annoyed that they were spreading their opinion throughout the Clan. SkyClan waits in tense silent for their leader to make a decision, and Leafstar strains to hides her irritation, and allows the young cat to keep his name, though she hears Snookpaw murmur to Billystorm that he thinks Egg should be proud to an apprentice name. :Leafstar she jumps down from the Rockpile and approaches Sharpclaw and Egg as the crowd breaks up. She meows that she will hunt and offers the two, as well as Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw to come with her now. Sharpclaw agrees that it's a good idea for Egg to get an idea of how SkyClan cats hunt. Leafstar heads for the bottom of the trail, but she barely walks at all before Echosong calls her, and she waits for the medicine cat to catch up to her. The silver tabby asks for Frecklepaw to help her find herbs, for when Clovertail has her kits, and Leafstar tries to ignore the eager light in Frecklepaw’s eyes, as she disagrees that the apprentice must keep up with her patrol duties. Echosong protests that she needs an apprentice, and Leafstar suggests waiting till Fallowfern’s kits grow old enough. However, the kits, who play nearby, announce that they do not want to be medicine cats, and Creekit claims that they will be warriors, and that he would be Clan leader. Plumkit declares that she will be the leader, and hurls herself at her brother. Creekkit dodges and runs off, his littermates following. Leafstar admits to herself that none of them would ever make a medicine cat, and Echosong impatiently watches the listening Clan. Leafstar is angry that most of the Clan heard the argument, and the medicine cat hisses that they’ll discuss it later, as not to hold up the hunting patrol. Leafstar feels despair at her distance with and remembers how they were once so close. :The patrol heads up the trail and into the woods. Frecklepaw lags, complaining that she had wanted to help Echosong, but Ebonyclaw crossly replies that she can't. Frecklepaw complains about the 'stupid training session', and the black she-cat snaps that she isn’t too keen to go to it, and she orders her apprentice to stop moaning and concentrate. Sharpclaw rolls his eyes, and says that the prey will be scared from their talking, and Ebonyclaw lashes her tail but remains silent. :Leafstar picks up a strong scent of squirrel, and Sharpclaw first the creature as it crosses a clearing just ahead of them. He offers Egg the change catch it, and the young cat’s says he will try, although Frecklepaw grumbles that he’d only just been made an apprentice. Egg drops into a crouch and creeps forward, but forgets to check the wind, which blows from him to the squirrel. The animal races for the nearest tree, but Egg screeches and hurtles across the clearing, catching up with the squirrel, though still several pawsteps behind by the time it reaches the tree and begins to climb. Egg hurls himself up the tree behind it and fastens his jaws in its tail. The apprentice falls to the ground with the squirrel,then goes limp. :Egg rises to his paws and asks if that was okay, and Sharpclaw declares it a great catch, Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw showing agreement. Leafstar congratulates Egg, but suggests that next time he should check the wind. Egg promises that he’ll remember, and drops his catch at the Clan leader’s paws. Sharpclaw begins digging a hole, and explains that they bury prey. As he buries the squirrel, Frecklepaw spots a pigeon, and asks to catch it. Her mentor nods, and the apprentice slips into the undergrowth. Leafstar spots the plump pigeon and carefully skirts the clearing. However, something alerts the pigeon, and it flutters upward to land on a branch. Ebonyclaw mutters it’s bad luck, but the Frecklepaw doesn’t give up and leaps into the tree on the side away from the pigeon. The bird flies into another tree before the apprentice can pounce, but Frecklepaw follows. Leafstar beckons her patrol with her tail to see what happens. Frecklepaw gradually draws closer to the bird, and Leafstar whispers to her patrol to spread out and climb trees, to surround the pigeon. Sharpclaw, Egg, and Ebonyclaw head off in different directions, and Leafstar chooses the tree next to where the pigeon is settled. Frecklepaw edges closer, and Leafstar starts to climb when a terrified yowl says to watch out. :The pigeon flies off and Frecklepaw exclaims in anger. Leafstar drops to the ground and sees Egg running, wailing that there’s a fox. Leafstar scents the SkyClan border markings, and a strong scent of fox. She pads over to Egg and asks how he knew that, and he responds that his den is on the other side of the tree. Leafstar thanks him for warning, saying that they’ll have to organize a patrol to hunt it down. Sharpclaw assures her that there’s no need since the fox has gone. Leafstar is baffled that he knew and asks why he didn’t say anything. Sharpclaw says that there was no point since the trail led away from their territory, but Egg protests to the deputy that he was told the fox came to live here permanently and he wouldn’t be safe if he stayed there on his own. Leafstar is suspicious, and asks Egg when Sharpclaw told him that. Egg replies that he was told a few days ago, when he came to warn about the fox. He asks if foxes would hurt him now that he was in the Clan. Leafstar realizes that Sharpclaw lied to her, and lied to Egg about the fox just so that he’d join the Clan. She fights back anger, and assures the apprentice that foxes wouldn’t attack the gorge, and Egg is relieved. Leafstar glances at Ebonyclaw and Frecklepaw, who report that the scent is stale. :Leafstar orders Ebonyclaw, Frecklepaw,and Egg to find another pigeon, and tells Sharpclaw that she wants to talk with him. When the others leave, Leafstar tells her deputy that he can’t recruit Clan members with lies. Sharpclaw responds that there was a fox and Egg is safer with the Clan. Leafstar wonders what other secrets her deputy is holding form her, and realizes that she no longer trusts her deputy. He interrupts her thoughts, and says that he'll catch up with the others. Leafstar watches him bound off, resenting his secrecy, yet admitting that Egg would be a valuable addition to the Clan. :The sun starts to go down as the patrol heads back to camp with plenty of prey. When they’re almost at the gorge, Leafstar sets down her shrews and asks her deputy if he would carry it, since she would have to dig up Egg’s squirrel. Sharpclaw nods and gathers the extra prey. Leafstar pads through the trees till she reaches where the squirrel is and digs it up. She hears a rustle in the undergrowth and Echosong comes into view, herbs in her mouth. The medicine cat looks tired, and Leafstar feels sympathetic, promising to get help. She offers that maybe Shrewtooth would want a break from warrior duties, but Echosong drops her herbs, and bitterly mews that Shrewtooth doesn’t have interest in being a medicine cat, while Frecklepaw clearly does. Leafstar sighs that they can’t have a daylight-warrior as a medicine cat, but Echosong argues that they can, since she’ll still be alive for a while yet. Leafstar feels warmth flood through her that her friendship with the medicine cat is starting to revive, and murmurs that she’s glad. She picks up her squirrel and heads for camp, Echosong gathering her herbs and padding beside her. :Near the edge of the wood they come upon a sunlit tree, and Leafstar suggests they rest. Echosong puts down her herbs, and asks how Billystorm is. Leafstar replies that he’s fine, but wonders why Echosong asked. The medicine cat responds that cats are beginning to talk about her and Billystorm being close. Leafstar responds he’s a good warrior, and that feels excited at being able to talk about Billystorm to a friend. She confesses that they have a connection, and that she feels empty when he’s not there. Echosong agrees that he’s a great Clanmate, but warns Leafstar not to show favoritism to the daylight-warriors. Leafstar protests that it’s not favoritism, and that she wants her and Billystorm to be mates. Echosong turns to her in surprise, and says that she can't, not now with the tenseness between the kittypets and warriors, and advises her leader to at least wait till things are easier. Leafstar doesn’t want to wait, but replies that she can cope, for it shouldn’t make a difference to her and Billystorm. Echosng goes on, saying it would be difficult if the Clan leader had kits. Leafstar asks who said anything about kits, and says its too early to be thinking about that. Echosong replies that it is not, and that she must stop thinking about Billystorm in that way, for she has a different destiny, which she must walk alone. Characters Major *Sharpclaw *Egg *Ebonyclaw *Frecklepaw }} Minor *Cora *Tangle *Lichenfur *Echosong *Sparrowpelt *Rockshade *Billystorm *Rabbitkit *Nettlekit *Plumkit *Creekkit }} Mentioned *Coal (unnamed) }} Important events Ceremonies Notes and references Category:SkyClan's Destiny Category:Chapter subpages Category:Super Edition arc